Doolittle injured himself running a couple of days ago. He probably won’t throw Saturday – when Oakland’s pitchers and catchers begin workouts – but Melvin doesn’t expect him to be far behind.

The manager did not sound overly concerned about Cook either, but he said the right-handed setup man will probably be a couple of weeks behind the other pitchers.

“We’ve shut him down here recently,” Melvin said. “We don’t think it’s a serious thing. We just want to make sure he’s healthy come Opening Day. We’re trying to be proactive with this.”

Asked if he thought Cook could miss the start of the regular season, Melvin replied:

“At this point, no.”

But any shoulder issue, even a mild one, regarding a pitcher warrants monitoring. Fortunately for the A’s, the bullpen is an area they’re well-equipped to compensate for an injury. In addition to Cook, Oakland has Dan Otero and newcomer Luke Gregerson available as right-handed late-inning options in front of closer Jim Johnson.